“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is encouraging others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly” (Romans 12:4-8).

---

Though I haven’t known God my whole life, I have known my whole life what my calling was—to write.

Writing always came easy to me. I’ve always loved surrounding myself with books and stories, and creating my own stories came naturally. That’s not to say writing a book isn’t hard. It’s so hard, and it takes so much patience and dedication. But writing is the only thing that has ever made sense for me to do.

And since becoming a Christ follower in 2014, God has shown me the purpose behind my talent. Like it says in Romans 12, we’ve all been given gifts to do our part in the body of Christ. And my gift is to write. So I need to write well and use it to serve God, his purpose, and his people.

I write stories for and about women and girls finding hope despite pain, mainly through young adult novels. With my stories, I explore the dark and painful parts of life—abuse, sexual violence, depression, suicide, oppression—and, whether I mention God’s name in my writing or not, I try to infuse my stories with the hope Christ has given me.

My debut novel, Somewhere Only We Know, is a contemporary young adult book about abuse that you can learn about here. I’m currently working on a young adult science fiction book about a Mars mission that will explore many of the themes you can always find in my writing, from depression and sexual violence to hope and the power of art and writing.

I use this blog to give updates on what I’m writing and reading, give writing advice and inspiration, and talk about how my faith affects and infuses my work.

If you are a writer, head over to the tips for writers page where I’ve organized my archives to help you out. On my favorite books page, you can find the links to my reviews of every book worthy of my favorites shelf.

Please feel free to contact me at brimarinowrites@gmail.com and check out my social media page to find links to all of my accounts. I’d love to connect with you!